Scottish Parliament

Written Answers

Wednesday 3 November 1999

Scottish Executive

Civil Service

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1558 by Donald Dewar on 15 September 1999, what criteria will be used to determine the relative weight given to the objectives of efficiency and closeness to the community each time the dispersal of civil service jobs is being considered.

Donald Dewar: As I explained in my answer on 15 September, the Executive believes that the location of public service jobs should promote efficiency and effectiveness. Subject to this, the Executive will seek opportunities to locate jobs as close as possible to the communities they serve. Estimated whole-life costs will be considered in relation to each location or relocation opportunity, as will operational effectiveness and the position of any staff concerned. Further criteria to be taken into account will depend on the nature of the work in question and any other relevant factors.

Civil Service

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1558 by Donald Dewar on 15 September 1999, what stage investigations into the dispersal of civil service jobs are at; what departments are investigating civil service job dispersal; how many jobs are being considered for dispersal, by department and at what grades, and what locations in the Highlands and Islands other than Inverness are being considered.

Donald Dewar: The Executive is gathering relevant information about public service jobs, including numbers and existing locations. Information is also being gathered about potential locations. As I have explained already (Written Answer S1W-1739) our policy encompasses all parts of Scotland.

Civil Service

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-1558 by Donald Dewar on 15 September 1999, what consultation with councils, community councils and local communities has been or will be carried out on the subject of civil servant job dispersal and what steps will be taken to ensure transparency of the decision making process on this issue.

Donald Dewar: Councils and other bodies are in touch regularly with the Executive about the advantages of their areas as locations for public service jobs. I expect that this will continue to happen. Where necessary, the Executive will request further information from relevant bodies about potential locations.

Consultation Papers

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-499 by Mr Jack McConnell, why it does not hold lists of all consultations, green papers and white papers for the policy areas for which it is responsible centrally.

Mr Jack McConnell: A list of the Scottish Executive’s consultation documents, green papers and white papers has recently been assembled and is available on the Scottish Executive website.

Education

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many schools in Scotland have (a) coal fired boilers, (b) gas fired boilers and (c) oil fired boilers, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: The information is not available centrally.

Homelessness

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to address the specific needs of disabled homeless people.

Jackie Baillie: The Code of Guidance on Homelessness already makes provision for disabled homeless people to be regarded as being in priority need for the purposes of the homeless persons legislation. The operation of this and other aspects of the legislation come within the terms of reference of the Homelessness Task Force which I chair. The Task Force will consider whether further action is required to tackle the cases of homeless people with specific needs, including those who are disabled.

Homelessness

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rough sleepers initiative budget, broken down by local authority area, is for each of the financial years 1999-2000, 2000-01, and 2001-02 at 1999-2000 prices, what the number of registered homeless people is in each local authority area, in the current year or the most recent year for which these figures are available, and what are the rough sleepers initiative budget amounts in each local authority area per registered homeless person using the latest figures which are available.

Jackie Baillie: To date £16 million has been allocated under the Rough Sleepers Initiative to 21 local authorities and two voluntary bodies, as set out in the table below. We will shortly issue guidelines for bids for a further £20 million which will be allocated early next year for the two years 2000-01 and 2001-02.

  Information about the number of people applying under the homeless persons legislation is given in Housing Trends in Scotland; Quarter ended 31 December 1998 (ref HSG/1999/4) a copy of which is held by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

  


LA 


Total Allocations 
  


1997-98 
  


1998-99 
  


1999-2000 
  




Aberdeen 
  

£540,666 
  




£232,184 
  

£308,482 
  



Argyll and Bute 
  

£8,000 
  







£8,000 
  



Dundee City 
  

£906,750 
  

£70,313 
  

£249,812 
  

£586,625 
  



East and West Dunbartonshire 
  

£45,500 
  

£0 
  

£11,200 
  

£34,300 
  



East Lothian 
  

£246,105 
  

£20,000 
  

£56,526 
  

£169,579 
  



Edinburgh City 
  

£4,791,208 
  

£821,000 
  

£2,379,328 
  

£1,590,880 
  



Falkirk 
  

£529,550 
  

£0 
  

£7,250 
  

£522,300 
  



Fife 
  

£430,531 
  

£141,535 
  

£118,330 
  

£170,666 
  



Glasgow City 
  

£5,649,900 
  

£1,072,900 
  

£2,223,700 
  

£2,353,300 
  



Highland 
  

£33,500 
  

£16,700 
  

£16,800 
  

£0 
  



Inverclyde 
  

£81,400 
  

£13,600 
  

£33,500 
  

£34,300 
  



Moray 
  

£344,725 
  

£14,600 
  

£49,745 
  

£280,380 
  



North and South Ayrshire 
  

£279,350 
  

£15,000 
  

£46,100 
  

£218,250 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

£801,110 
  

£16,800 
  

£257,497 
  

£526,813 
  



Perth and Kinross 
  

£809,513 
  

£137,000 
  

£318,162 
  

£354,351 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

£169,825 
  

£10,100 
  

£30,685 
  

£129,040 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

£157,820 
  

£16,600 
  

£67,640 
  

£73,580 
  



Stirling 
  

£35,550 
  

£0 
  

£11,650 
  

£23,900 
  



West Lothian 
  

£75,000 
  

£0 
  

£37,500 
  

£37,500 
  



Shelter/GCSH 
  

£63,997 
  

£0 
  

£27,584 
  

£36,413 
  



Total 
  

£16,000,000 
  

£2,366,148 
  

£5,943,009 
  

£7,458,659

Justice

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive to specify, in the latest year for which figures are available and in each of the previous three years the number of (a) road accidents in Scotland which have caused the death of one or more people; (b) prosecutions for (i) causing death by dangerous driving; (ii) causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs; (iii) reckless driving; and (iv) careless driving, arising from such accidents, and (c) prosecutions in each of the foregoing categories in which the accused either pled or was found guilty and (i) a custodial sentence was imposed and (ii) the charge was reduced to a lesser one; and what was the range of non custodial sentences imposed in each of the categories referred to in (b) above.

Mr Jim Wallace: The number of road accidents in Scotland which resulted in one or more fatalities totalled 361 in 1995, 316 in 1996, 340 in 1997, and 339 in 1998.

  The figures given in the table below relate to prosecutions where the main offence was either causing death by dangerous driving, or causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs. Information is not available centrally on other prosecutions arising e.g. careless driving arising from fatal road accidents, or on cases where the charge involved was changed at any stage of the proceedings. Persons proceeded against in Scottish courts for selected driving offences, by outcome, 1994-1997

  


Year 
  of acquittal/sentence by outcome 
  


Causing death 
  by dangerous driving 


Causing death 
  by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs 
  




1994 
  
 
 



Charge not proved 
  

5 
  

- 
  



Custody 
  

8 
  

- 
  



Community service order 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Probation 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Fine 
  

3 
  

- 
  



Other 
  

- 
  

- 
  



TOTAL 
  

21 
  

- 
  



1995 
  
 
 



Charge not proved 
  

9 
  

- 
  



Custody 
  

12 
  

2 
  



Community service order 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Probation 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Fine 
  

2 
  

- 
  



Other 
  

- 
  

- 
  



TOTAL 
  

29 
  

2 
  



1996 
  
 
 



Charge not proved 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Custody 
  

13 
  

- 
  



Community service order 
  

4 
  

- 
  



Probation 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Fine 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Other 
  

- 
  

- 
  



TOTAL 
  

23 
  

- 
  



1997 
  
 
 



Charge not proved 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Custody 
  

14 
  

3 
  



Community service order 
  

- 
  

1 
  



Probation 
  

- 
  

- 
  



Fine 
  

1 
  

- 
  



Other 
  

1 
  

- 
  



TOTAL 
  

17 
  

4

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the levels of staff turnover have been at Kilmarnock Prison, Barlinnie Prison, Edinburgh Prison, Peterhead Prison and Perth Prison since April 1999.

Mr Jim Wallace: The numbers of staff who have left each of these prisons is as shown in the following table:

 PrisonNumber of Leavers  Barlinnie   30 Edinburgh   22 Kilmarnock   45 Perth   23 Peterhead   10   

  I should add that long established prisons are likely to experience a lower staff turnover than is likely in the start up phase of a new prison.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to provide detailed breakdowns of staffing at Kilmarnock Prison by occupation category and of what proportion of staff live in the Kilmarnock and Louden post code areas.

Mr Jim Wallace: Kilmarnock Prison is currently operated by 10 senior managers and 289 prison staff. 37.5% of staff live in Kilmarnock and Loudoun post code areas. 77% live in Ayrshire.

Transport

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will make representations to Her Majesty’s Government regarding the position of disabled people in Scotland who lease Motability cars and are automatically members of the Automobile Association (AA) but are not eligible to receive the payment to be made to members of the AA in the current takeover.

Sarah Boyack: Motability leaseholders receive roadside assistance under the terms of a group agreement arranged by Motability Finance Ltd. They are not themselves members of either the AA or the RAC, who hold the current Motability contract for roadside assistance.